Manziel gets QB award for his birthday

By Tim Griffin :
December 6, 2012
: Updated: December 6, 2012 11:54pm

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Kansas State quarterback Collin Klein, center right, and his wife Shalin arrive at the Home Depot College Football Awards in Lake Buena Vista, Fla., Thursday, Dec. 6, 2012.(AP Photo/John Raoux)

Photo By John Raoux/Associated Press

Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel displays his trophy for the Davey O'Brien Award after being named the nation's best quarterback at the Home Depot College Football Awards in Lake Buena Vista, Fla., Thursday, Dec. 6, 2012. (AP Photo/John Raoux)

Photo By John Raoux/Associated Press

Texas A&M's Luke Joeckel displays his trophy for the Outland Trophy Award after being named the nation's outstanding interior lineman at the Home Depot College Football Awards in Lake Buena Vista, Fla., Thursday, Dec. 6, 2012. (AP Photo/John Raoux)

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — Johnny Manziel arrived at the College Football Awards show Thursday night with the adulation of a rock star.

The Texas A&M quarterback later left with one national award and the promise of history on his side in his bid to win the Heisman Trophy on Saturday night.

Manziel won the Davey O'Brien Award, becoming the first player in Texas A&M history and first freshman to win the honor presented to the nation's top quarterback.

But he was nosed out for the Maxwell Award by Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te'o, who also claimed the Bednarik Award as the nation's top linebacker in Thursday's presentation.

Manziel, who turned 20 on Thursday, said winning the O'Brien was a stunning achievement he never expected to receive.

“It's unreal,” Manziel said. “Just to win it with all of these other quarterbacks here is absolutely surreal to say the least.”

It was a joyous 20th birthday for Manziel, an event that led fans to sing “Happy Birthday” as he arrived on the red carpet before the event and prompted another version of the song played by an ESPN disc jockey once the awards show began.

During his interview, ESPN presented Manziel with a birthday cake delivered by a teammate, offensive tackle Luke Joeckel.

Later, Joeckel made history by becoming the first A&M player to earn the Outland Trophy as the nation's top lineman.

“Getting a birthday cake from Luke and then the award, it doesn't get much better than that,” Manziel said.

In the history of the O'Brien award, winners have claimed the Heisman 48.4 percent of the time, including five of the past six winners. Not winning the Maxwell Award also might serve Manziel well on Saturday night.

In the 75-year history of the Maxwell, only 46.6 percent of the winners also have won the Heisman in the same year. And only two of the most recent 12 Maxwell winners have won the Heisman.

But Manziel said he's not worried about those trends, or much else, as he prepares for the Heisman Trophy presentation.

“If that's the way it's played out and that's a pattern, I guess it's good for me,” Manziel said. “I'm just enjoying the process and looking forward to going to New York with a group of great guys.”

Manziel appeared to revel in the pageantry around Thursday's event, going out of his way for interviews before the show.

At one point, he stopped for a couple of minutes and engaged in a paper-football kicking contest with ESPN analyst David Pollack.

The former Kerrville Tivy standout's aim was a little more consistent Thursday night than it was Nov. 17 against Sam Houston State when he misfired on an extra-point attempt with the Aggies safely ahead.

Manziel appeared resplendent while wearing a gray tailored suit with a noticeable salmon-colored stripe and a maroon-and-gray tie.